一本道

My colleagues and I are working, among other things, on developing methods to identify stocks of materials in society that are no longer in use. Using these methods, we have identified large quantities of metals and other untapped resources left behind in cities鈥� electricity and telecommunications networks and in various landfill sites. But so far we have only scratched the surface, and there is much left to explore and learn about these forgotten and hidden reserves of resources in our society.

A key part of my research involves developing and evaluating the cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of various strategies, methods and measures for more resource-efficient waste management and recycling. I am currently leading several projects on 鈥楥ities as Mines鈥� and 鈥楲andfills as Mines鈥�. In these projects, we collaborate with recycling and infrastructure companies to analyse the technical, market-related and regulatory measures and changes required to make such resource recovery viable for individual companies and for society as a whole.

I am also involved in teaching at the university in areas such as industrial ecology, waste management and recycling, and methods for the environmental assessment of products, services and systems. In my role as coordinator of an international master鈥檚 programme, I meet students from all corners of the globe, which is enriching in many ways.